Backup of Sewer & Drains Coverage

Posted by McGroarty & Bradburn Insurance on August 7, 2018

Do you have coverage if your sump pump quits working and/or your drains backup? You need to have “backup of sewer & drains coverage” add to your homeowners or business policy to have coverage. This coverage is usually not automatically included on policies, so you have to endorse it to the policy. We see these types of claims for many reasons:

A sump pump fails. This can because it’s of power failure, it can’t handle the work, or any number of other reasons.

There is too much rain for the drains/storm sewers/septic to handle.

Something clogs the pipes. Could be tree roots growing into drain, something manmade that clogs the drain, or the drain could collapse.

It pays for the resulting damage of a sewer or drain backing up in your house. The resulting damage could be destroyed flooring/carpeting, damaged drywall, contents (furniture, toys, exercise equipment, etc.) and the cost to clean up the mess. It generally does not pay to repair the issue that caused the sewer or drain to back up.

Most companies offer an endorsement to add this coverage to a homeowners policy or a commercial building policy. The limits generally start at $5,000 and could go up to the building limit. Every company has different limit options and a max that they will go up too. Most companies do not go to the building limit, but we do have some that do. With all the storms we’ve had lately, we’ve had an increase number of these claims in the past few months. Especially in June, when it rained extremely hard for about 6 hours and peoples storm drains couldn’t handle the excess rain.

We’d be happy to review your coverage and make sure you have “backup of sewer & drains coverage” on your policy. If you don’t, give us a call and we can quote your insurance with our 25+ insurance companies. 412-444-4470

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